Peratallada
Worth two hours, ideally late in the day when the light hits the stone and the day-trippers have gone. Eat here rather than in Pals: fewer people, similar food, lower prices.
The only village in the Emporda where the streets were dug rather than built.
At a Glance
- — You have limited time and have already seen Pals
A village whose lanes were cut down into the sandstone, so the streets are literally quarried, with a moat, walls, towers and a castle at the top. It is unpolished in a way Pals is not, and the stone turns the colour of honey in the late afternoon.
How it got here
The name draws from the Latin petra scissa, meaning stone cut, a direct nod to the quarrying that defined the village plan. By the eleventh century, the fortification belonged to the barony of Peratallada, with the castle structure becoming the seat of a powerful feudal line. These lords held authority over the surrounding plains of the Baix Empordà until the fourteenth century, when the title transitioned through marriage into the house of Cruïlles. The architectural remnants of the keep and the ramparts trace the evolution of a frontier lordship that commanded the local territory from the medieval period onward, leaving the village fixed in its defensive footprint.
Where it sits
The village sits upon the flat, agricultural expanse of the Baix Empordà, where sandstone bedrock dictated the trench-like layout of the lanes. To the north rise the Gavarres mountains, while the coast waits a short distance to the east. Summer heat dries the surrounding fields to straw, and the limestone blocks of the village catch a golden light that contrasts with the surrounding pine woods and olive groves. During the quieter months of the year, the village returns to the rhythm of a working rural settlement, far removed from the press of the seasonal crowds that visit the nearby beaches.
What to eat and drink
The cuisine follows the traditions of the Empordà, relying on the seasonal bounty of land and sea. Suquet de peix, a fisherman's stew made with local catch and a picada of almonds and garlic, anchors the menu. Foraged wild mushrooms, known as bolets, arrive in autumn and appear in rice dishes. The nearby vineyards of the Empordà Designation of Origin provide dry white wines that balance the intensity of salt-cured anchovies from the coast. Desserts often lean on panellets, small cakes made with almonds and pine nuts, which define the local sweet tooth through the cooling harvest months.
Catalonia: the whole region
Barcelona is the anchor and most trips never leave it, which is a mistake but not a fatal one: Girona, Tarragona and the Costa Brava's coves are all within two hours by train or a short drive, and the Empordà behind them holds the best…
Minimum 4 days · better 7-8 days · deep 2 weeks
In Catalonia
In Catalonia
In Catalonia
Linked from elsewhere
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Experiences worth booking ahead
- Girona and Costa Brava Small Group Tour from Barcelona5.0 (500)9 hrsFrom €100
- Costa Brava and Medieval Villages Small Group from Girona4.9 (96)8 hrsFrom €147
- Dali Museum and Costa Brava Small Group Day Trip from Barcelona4.9 (86)10 hrsFrom €100
- Private: Girona and Costa Brava adventure from Barcelona5.0 (19)9 hrsFrom €700
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